


I'm okay (no I'm not)

by How_did_1_get_here



Series: You're my star [4]
Category: Cravity (Band)
Genre: A lot of hiding in chests?, Angst with a Happy Ending, Coming Out, Crying, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Homophobia, Kissing, M/M, Meeting the Parents, Panic Attacks, Team as Family, This is less depressing than it looks from the tags, idk why but that seems to be a common theme here, theres only one scene with x1
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-16
Updated: 2020-10-16
Packaged: 2021-03-07 20:54:52
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,481
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26983990
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/How_did_1_get_here/pseuds/How_did_1_get_here
Summary: Coming out doesn't always go as planned.
Relationships: Kang Minhee/Song Hyeongjun
Series: You're my star [4]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1899181
Comments: 6
Kudos: 31





	I'm okay (no I'm not)

**Author's Note:**

> Trigger warning for homophobia.  
> Enjoy!

“Just reminding you we have the call in fifteen minutes,” Minhee said, fixing his shirt and walking into Hyeongjun’s room. 

“Are you ready?” Hyeongjun asked, kissing Minhee’s cheek and pulling him to sit on the bed. 

“I’m as ready as I think I’m gonna be,” Minhee said, letting Hyeongjun start braiding a bit of his hair. He knew how much Hyeongjun loved playing with it.

“They’re gonna respond well. We've already done the coming out stuff, so we just have the relationship announcement,” Hyeongjun reminded him.

“One minute till we have to call,” Minhee warned.

“Would you like a kiss before it starts?” Hyeongjun asked, finishing the braid he was doing and sitting back down.

“Yes please.” Minhee reached over to kiss Hyeongjun. After they pulled away, Minhee started the call and waited for people to join.

“Okay we have something to tell you guys,” Minhee started apprehensively once everyone had joined. He looked at Hyeongjun and they nodded at each other. “We’re dating!” they exclaimed in unison. 

“Oh! I’m so happy for you two,” Seungwoo said like the proud parental figure he was.

“FUCKING FINALLY,” Junho yelled.

“What?” 

“I had to share a room with you two for 6 damn months. The sexual tension was awful,” Junho reminded them.

“Oh my god, Junho. I’m sorry, I should have rescued you,” Yohan joked.

“Yeah, you should have. At least you finally got your shit together. I’m proud,” Junho told them.

“Me too. I think we all saw this from a mile away but you’re cute together,” Hangyul teased.

“Ah young love,” Seungyoun laughed proudly.

“Okay, but did anyone else have to listen to them rant about how cute the other one was for hours? I should have been told first because of all the complaining,” Dongpyo pouted.

“We all had to listen to them, Pyo,” Seungwoo reminded him.

“It was so annoying. Minhee would come over to me and be like ‘don’t tell him,’ but Hyeongjun is so cute and I don’t know how to deal with it’ and then 15 minutes later Hyeonjun would come over and say the same thing about Minhee,” Dongpyo huffed.

“I got that exact conversation a few times,” Eunsang agreed.

“I think I told each of them to make a move about six times and both of them were like ‘No I’ll get rejected’ and neither of them realized they were both pining over each other,” Seungyoun laughed.

“I had to give the classic ‘you can’t complain if you don’t make a move’ talk a few times, too,” Wooseok joined in.

“Even I had to tell them to shut up and date once. I got hit for saying ‘shut up’ but I was right,” Dohyon contributed.

“I’m sorry! Emotions are hard to deal with!” Hyeongjun jokingly yelled.

“Who asked who?” Yohan asked.

“Well, it’s a kind of long story...” Minhee started apprehensively.

“Oh no, what happened?” Wooseok cut in.

“Well...the short version is alcohol.”

“Were you underage at the time?” Seungwoo asked, turning back into his parental self. 

“Yes...” Minhee mumbled, looking away from the camera. Hyeongjun made a show of pushing him out of frame and dramatically whispered: “You weren’t supposed to tell the hyungs!” causing everyone to laugh.

“I honestly can’t be mad, you two were pining for a really long time,” Seungwoo admitted.

“I want to know what you were like when you were drunk. Are your members there?” Hangyul asked, rubbing his hands together excitedly.

“They’re in the other room.”

“Serim-hyung get in here!” Hyeongjun shouted.

“What do you want?” Serim asked, poking his head through the door.

“Just come here.”

“What is it? Oh hi, guys.”

“Hi! We wanted to know what these two are like when they’re drunk,” Hangyul asked enthusiastically. 

“Oh, they’re awful. Minhee is very passive-aggressive about everything and Hyeongjun is very whiny but when they were together they wouldn’t stop making out,” Serim explained.

“My god. Honestly, I’m not surprised,” Seungwoo said disappointedly, covering his face with his hands. “Thank you for taking care of them, Serim.”

“Anytime,” Serim said, waving as he left the room.

“How long is your dating ban?”

“Three years after debut.”

“So you have to keep quiet for two more years.”

“I’ve done worse things,” Minhee shrugged.

“That is true. Hiding a relationship isn’t the hardest thing if you’re used to it,” Seungyoun said, nodding wisely. 

“Are you speaking from experience there, hyung?” Dohyon teased and Seungyoun pretended his camera froze, doing a weird robot impression. 

“Are you gonna come out publicly after the two years are up?” Wooseok asked.

“If the company lets us, maybe. I don’t know if they’d let us,” Minhee said rationally. 

“There’s also the issue of our parents. Neither of us is out to them,” Hyeongjun chimed in. 

“Wait. Who else knows?” Hangyul asked.

“Well you guys know now, our members were there so they know, and Monsta X sunbaenims,” Minhee listed.

“Your members I get, but how do Monsta X sunbaenims know?” Yohan asked.

“That is also a long story but the short version is they were our emergency contact.” 

“Oh dear, I hope you weren’t awful to them.” Seungwoo looked concerned.

“I remember being really mad at Serim,” Hyeongjun admitted.

“See kids this is why you don’t drink,” Seungwoo reprimanded.

“Ummmm.” Dongpyo looked guilty. 

“Dongpyo what was that?”

“I went drinking with Eunsang last weekend.”

“That’s illegal!”

“We’re adults hyung,” Eunsang reminded him. 

“I hate that so much,” Seungyoun complained, feeling old.

“You only have one child left,” Hangyul teased.

“Dohyon you better stay a baby forever” Seungyoun cried dramatically.

“I’m an adult in two years,” Dohyon reminded everyone.

“No, you’re not. I’m in denial.”

“Well on that note of Seungyoun’s perpetual existential crisis, I have practice so I will see you all soon. Call if you need anything,” Wooseok laughed, waving and leaving the call.

There was a chorus of “Bye hyung” and “See you soon” before the call ended. As soon as the computer’s camera was off, Hyeongjun tackled Minhee with a kiss.

“Well that went well.” Hyeongjun was lying on Minhee’s chest, letting the taller play with his hair.

“I’m not surprised. They’re our family.”

“You’re so sappy,” Hyeongjun laughed, lightly hitting Minhee’s shoulder. He paused for a second, sat up, then said decisively: “I think I want to tell my parents.”

“Really?”

“Yeah, I mean we’ve told one family and it went well, and my family has always said they love me no matter what and I can tell them anything so why not? Also, I think my sisters have guessed,” Hyeongjun ranted.

“You should tell them then. God, I wish my family would take it that well.” Minhee stared at the ceiling a bit sadly.

“They wouldn’t?”

“Probably not my parents. They’re still mad I became an idol instead of a scientist or doctor or something smart like that. It’s always ‘so much wasted potential. You could do so much and you chose this’” Minhee mocked. “Also my dad went into a wild hompohobic rant like a week after I figured out that I liked boys.”

“I don’t like your parents. Do you want to make out to distract you from their existence?”

“Please,” Minhee groaned, covering his face with his hands.

“Babe, I can’t make out with you if you’re covering your face,” Hyeongjun teased. Minhee quickly removed his hands.

*****************

Hyeongjun’s family was easy to talk to because they called often. They had always supported him in any endeavor he chose to pursue as long as he was safe. That being said he was still quite nervous.

“It’s gonna be fine, Babe. They really care about you okay,” Minhee reminded him for the millionth time that day, sitting just out of frame for moral support. Hyeongjun nodded, took a deep breath, and joined the video call playing on his computer.

“Hi, guys.” Hyeongjun waved, still a little nervously, to his parents and sisters as they joined the video call playing on his computer. 

“Hi, honey how is everything?” Mrs. Song asked.

“Pretty good. School is going well and people actually like us,” Hyeongjun said excitedly.

“That’s amazing sweetie.”

“Thank you. There was actually something I wanted to tell you.” Hyeongjun paused to look at Minhee who nodded encouragingly. “I’m gay and I have a boyfriend,” He rushed in one breath.

“Oh sweet pea, I love you,” Hyeongjun’s mother said reassuringly. 

“Hyeongjun I hate to break it to you but you’ve been very gay since the day you were born. No one is surprised but we still love you,” his oldest sister teased. 

“Thank you so much. I love you guys.” Hyeongjun was blushing furiously and grinning from ear to ear. 

“We’d always love you, you’re our baby,” Hyeongjun’s dad reminded him.

“You managed to get a boyfriend! I always thought you would stay awkward forever but you grew up!” Hyeongjun’s oldest sister cheered.

“Can we meet the boyfriend?” his other sister clapped her hands excitedly.

“It’s Minhee, you know him.” Hyeongjun looked over at Minhee who was smiling from behind Hyeongjun’s computer.

“Oh! Minhee’s the best. You’ve chosen well,” Hyeongjun’s eldest sister exclaimed.

“Minhee, come here,” Hyeongjun giggled. 

“Hi,” Minhee slid over to sit next to Hyeongjun, waving at Hyeongjun’s family. Hyeongjun looked up at his boyfriend fondly. 

“Oh you two are adorable,” Hyeongjun’s mom cooed. 

“Thank you,” Minhee said a bit formally. 

“Hyeongjun, please bring him next time you visit, I need a proper introduction that involves showing him all your baby photos.”

“Not the baby photos,” Hyeongjun dramatically complained, hiding his face in Minhee’s shoulder.

“Yes, the baby photos. And all of the stories too!”

“Mom, make her stop!” Hyeongjun whined.

“I want to hear about what you were like as a kid.” Minhee looked down at him, laughing at his dramatics.

“Oh, he was a little-,” Hyeongjun’s eldest sister started. 

“I was a little angel!” Hyeongjun screeched, successfully cutting her off.

“Not at all. You were very loud and followed us like a shadow,” his second sister corrected.

“You were adorable though. Minhee, please take care of him.”

“I’ll do my best,” Minhee said, puffing out his chest proudly.

“Come visit when you have a break. It’s been too long,” Hyeongjun’s mom reminded them.

“We’ll try. Love you guys,” Hyeongjun smiled.

“Love you too. Come visit!” Hyeongjun’s Dad nodded in agreement.

“We’ll talk to management and see when we can. Bye!” Hyeongjun waved, ending the call.

“Your family is nice,” Minhee smiled, tackling him.

“I know right? I love them,” Hyeongjun said, happily squishing his face.

“I think I want to tell my family,” Minhee mumbled, while his face was still being squished.

“Really?” Hyeongjun asked, letting go of his boyfriend’s face in surprise.

“Yeah I don’t know how it’ll go but I want to tell them.”

“If you’re sure and you’re ready then okay why not.” Hyeongjun went back to squishing Minhee’s face and softly kissed his nose.

*****************  
Minhee’s parents were harder to get ahold of because of their busy work schedules. His siblings weren’t free at the same time virtually ever so Minhee decided to just talk to his parents over the phone. 

Hyeongjun could tell how nervous he was when the day of the call finally came, but Minhee always got quiet when he was nervous so he just let him be. He did notice Minhee was a bit clingier than normal, most likely out of anxiety. He kept checking his phone every few minutes for the entire hour before when his parents were supposed to call and jumped about a foot in the air from where he was sitting on his bed with Hyeongjun when his phone finally rang. 

“Hi mom and dad, how are you?” Minhee greeted shakily. 

“We’re fine. Are you calling because you have a new song out again?”

“No there’s something else I wanted to talk to you guys about.” He took a deep breath and looked over at Hyeongjun who nodded enthusiastically. “I’m bi and dating Hyeongjun,” Minhee said in one breath.

“Is this a joke?” Minhee’s father asked.

“No why would I joke about something like this?”

“Minhee, sweetheart, you’re not gay or bi or whatever you’re saying right now. You’re just confused,” Minhee’s mother said condescendingly. 

“No mom I’m not confused. I really love Hyeongjun and not just as a friend. You can’t decide who I am just because of your expectations of me.” Minhee hadn’t realized his voice had risen until his father interrupted him. 

“We shouldn’t have ever let you get tangled up in all of this idol nonsense. You can call us back when you drop this ridiculous act.” 

“Wait, but-.” The line dropped. Minhee sat there in shock, shaking and completely overwhelmed with emotion. He hadn’t really thought his parents would react well, but he thought they would at least believe him but obviously, that wasn’t true. 

“Are you okay?” Hyeongjun asked softly. Minhee shook his head, tears silently falling down his cheeks. Hyeongjun wrapped his arms around his boyfriend and let him sob into his chest, not knowing what to do and feeling weirdly guilty that his parents had been so accepting. A few minutes later, Minhee’s phone rang with a call from his brother. 

“Hey what’s wrong? Mom and Dad just texted me telling me to ‘not call you until you drop the act’ which was really confusing.” 

“I told them I’m bi and they said I was making it up,” Minhee mumbled, trying to steady his voice to make it seem like he hadn’t been crying. 

“I’m so sorry that happened to you. If it makes you feel better I accept you and believe this isn’t an act.” 

“A little.” 

“I’m really sorry and I’ll call you again soon but I’m at work so hang in there. I’ll try to visit when I have the chance.” 

“Okay.”

“Hang in there. I love you.”

“I love you too.”

“Are you okay?” Hyeongjun asked once Minhee’s brother hung up.

“No.” Minhee was slumped against the wall staring blankly ahead. 

“Just remember I love you, okay?” Hyeongjun murmured, pulling him closer.

“I love you too.”

“We’ve been through shit before we can get through this. You have so many people supporting you. All our hyungs and dongsaengs care about you,” Hyeongjun reminded him. “Do you need to just stay here for a while?” Minhee stayed curled up with his face in Hyeognjun’s sweater. “Okay here’s your cuddles. You’re gonna be okay”

Minhee’s phone buzzed again and Hyeongjun showed it to him. It was a text from his sister.

>I heard what happened and I’m so sorry. I’m heading to the house now to yell at them. I love you.

Minhee finished reading and curled up into a ball and started sobbing harder. Jungmo appeared at the doorway.

“Hey what happened? I heard crying.” He paused when he saw Minhee crying in Hyeongjun’s arms, and sat down next to them. “Oh, Mini, I’m so sorry. Hyeongjun what happened?”

“It was his parents,” Hyeongjun said sadly, trying to keep it together for the sake of his boyfriend. 

“Oh god. Minhee it’s okay I got you. You're okay.”

“Hyung, I don’t-.” Minhee clawed at his face, starting to panic, barely starting to process what just happened, completely overwhelmed with everything.

“Shhhhh, just breathe you’re okay.”

“Minhee I love you,” Hyeongjun said, grabbing Minhee’s hands away from his face.

“Mini don’t work yourself up into a panic attack, what can we do to help you?” Jungmo asked, brushing Minhee’s hair away from his forehead.

“I don’t-, I can’t-, I- I- I,” He took a shaky breath. “Help.”

“Okay, do you want me to get you some water?” Minhee nodded shakily. Jungmo got up and got him a bottle of water. 

For the next hour, Jungmo and Hyeongjun tried to calm Minhee down by talking to him and reminding him how many people loved him so much. Eventually, other members started trying to be helpful with memes and nice words and cute fan edits but nothing worked until Woobin appeared with comfort food. 

“You need to eat, okay,” Woobin said, putting the bowl of food down and comfortingly patting Minhee’s hair. 

“Did you make this?” Minhee asked, finally lifting his face out of Hyeongjun’s sweater where he had been hiding for the past fifteen minutes.

“I did. I hope it makes you feel better.” 

“Thank you, hyung.” 

“Don’t cry you’re gonna be okay,” Woobin reassured, brushing tears off Minhee’s cheeks.

After that Woobin was decided as the Designated Adult and, by some miracle, got Minhee to agree to watch a movie. That distracted him until it was time to go to bed. Hyeongjun insisted on sleeping in the same bed as Minhee for “Emotional support”.

“Hyeongjun is this part of your thot agenda?” Serim asked, trying to lighten the mood a bit.

Hyeongjun looked offended. “No, hyung, Minhee is sad and I know he’s gonna wake up in the middle of the night really upset so I want to be there for him.”

“That’s actually really sweet. Okay do whatever. I mean not whatever but you know… be a good boyfriend for him I guess. I don’t know.”

“Goodnight.”

“Goodnight. Sleep well and call me if you need anything.”

Hyeongjun slipped into Minhee’s bed where the other was already lying.

“Hi.”

“Hi.” Minhee rolled over and tossed his arm over Hyeongjun, lying on his chest. 

“I’m sorry about today,” Hyeongjun said, playing with Minhee’s hair.

“It’s not your fault,” Minhee tried to reassure him. 

“I know but I’m still sorry.” “I really love you”

“I love you too.”

“Try to sleep, babe”

“You’re gonna stay?”

“I’m not going anywhere.”

Minhee miraculously fell asleep and stayed asleep throughout the night, obviously exhausted by the day’s events. Hyeongjun on the other hand slept restlessly, in part because of how worried he was for his boyfriend, but also because he was being clung to by an anxious, six-foot-tall piece of spaghetti. 

*****************  
“Hyungs wake up!” Seongmin yelled way too early the next morning, flipping on the lights.

“Go away Seongmin,” Hyeongjun groaned, trying to shoo the maknae out of the room. 

“I hate to do this but you leave me no choice,” Seongmin said ominously before throwing his entire weight on the sleeping couple.

“Ouch! Go away!” Minhee groaned trying to push Seongmin off.

“My lungs are being crushed,” Hyeongjun complained.

“Then you should get up.”

“We’ll now you’re preventing us from doing that, dumbass,” Minhee snapped.

“That was mean, I’m telling Serim-hyung,” Seongmin taunted, getting up to go tell on them

“No! Don’t do that!” Minhee leapt up and chased him, attempting to prevent getting in trouble early in the morning. Hyeongjun followed closely behind. The three of them raced into the kitchen, narrowly avoiding the cursed guillotine light, and reached where the hyungs were sitting.

Seongmin screeched to no one in particular “Hyung, they called me-”

“I did not call him anything!” Minhee shouted over him.

“Minhee’s right Seongmin’s making things up,” Hyeongjun chimed in. 

“You were there! You literally heard him call me a dumbass! You’re only agreeing with him because he’s your boyfriend!” Seongmin screeched.

“He gets boyfriend privileges, what can I say.”

“Good morning to you too,” Serim said, slowly taking a sip from his coffee. 

“Good morning!” Hyeongjun said cheerfully, looking away from where he had been glaring at Seongmin threateningly. 

“Would you like to explain why you’re yelling at eight in the morning?” Allen asked.

“He called me a dumbass!” Seongmin screamed, aggressively pointing at Minhee.

“Seongmin, my sweet summer child, there is usually a reason that they call you a dumbass. What did you do?” Serim reminded him for what seemed like the millionth time.

“Jumped on them while they were sleeping,” Seongmin mumbled, looking at the floor guiltily.

“I’m not even fucking surprised at this point,” Allen said, rolling his eyes.

“Language.”

“Sorry.”

“Seongmin don’t jump on people while they’re sleeping. It hurts. And I know that because you do it to me all the time. If you jump on sleeping people they get to call you a dumbass,” Serim continued. Seongmin pouted violently. 

“Would you guys like breakfast?” Allen cut in.

“Sure.”

While Allen started making breakfast and Hyeongjun continued arguing with Seongmin, Woobin pulled Minhee aside. “Minhee, how are you doing?” 

“I’m repressing my emotions,” Minhee said way too cheerfully, throwing up a peace sign. 

“Minhee no,” Woobin said sadly. “You need to talk about your feelings”

“More espresso less depresso!” 

“Minhee!”

“Fine. I’m upset but I don’t want to process it,” Minhee admitted. 

“Well that’s something. What would make you feel better?” Woobin asked.

“I don’t know,” Minhee shrugged. 

“Then let us think of something to cheer you up.”

“Fine,” Minhee said, going to watch Youtube in his room with Hyeongjun.

Three hours later Minhee got dragged into the living room, which had been turned into a massive pillow fort.

“What is this, you guys?” Minhee asked as Taeyoung and Seongmin pulled him by the arm.

“We wanted to cheer you up so we tried to make the living room as happy as possible!”

“Seongmin and I made a meme wall, Serim-hyung, Allen-hyung, and Jungmo-hyung made the pillow fort, and Wonjin-hyung and Woobin-hyung got Wonjin-hyung’s mom’s recipes and made food,” Taeyoung listed.

“This is really cool, thank you guys,” Minhee murmured in surprise. 

“We were thinking we could watch a movie as a group while we eat dinner,” Serim added.

“That sounds fun.”

“We’re also taking suggestions from everyone but Seongmin, cause he can’t be responsible.”

“That’s a fair choice. We should watch Exo Next Door, cause it’s awful and amazing,” Hyeongjun suggested.

“Ohhh I like that idea.”

“Cuddle pile!” Seongmin screamed, jumping at the members.

“Seongmin no, don’t tackle people,” Serim shouted, catching him mid-leap.

“Seongmin is secretly a flying squirrel, confirmed!” Taeyoung yelled excitedly.

“Is Seongmin a furry?” Hyeongjun asked mischievously. 

“I am not. Take that back you hoe,” Seongmin screeched.

“I will not!”

Serim groaned, hiding his face in his hands. “Guys, back to the show.”

“Seongmin is still a furry,” Hyeongjun quietly instigated.

“Okay, but is anyone else wondering what a furry is?” Wonjin asked apprehensively. 

“Wonjin, sweetie, we have google for a reason,” Woobin said, barely holding back laughter at his bandmate’s innocence. 

Wonjin looked at his phone for a minute then screamed “OH MY GOD WHY DID YOU LET ME GOOGLE THAT!”

“I WASN’T ABOUT TO EXPLAIN IT!”

“Wonjin-hyung did you accidentally find furry porn?” Taeyoung laughed.

“I need to bleach my eyeballs.”

“I’ve found hitting your face on the floor really helps. It worked when I saw Minhee and Hyeongjun making out,” Seongmin piped up.

“I’ve decided I don’t want to know about anyone’s activities in this house.”

“I’m just gonna say it: he could’ve seen something worse,” Hyeongjun shrugged.

“Do not continue that.”

“Guys. Show.”

“I’ve never seen it,” Allen piped up.

“Well, now we have to drop everything. If you’ve never seen EXO next door your life isn’t complete,” Wonjin exclaimed.

Allen raised his eyebrows “Is it that good?” he asked skeptically.

“No it’s awful, but it’s a right of passage.”

“For what?”

“Life,” Seongmin said.

“Gayness,” Hyeongjun said.

“The career we’ve all chosen,” Woobin said.

“All of the above,” Wonjin laughed.

“It’s partly a guide of what not to do but also an artistic masterpiece,” Minhee said. 

“It was my gay awakening,” Hyeongjun explained. 

“Elaborate?”

“No.”

“Moving on from that would you actually like to watch the show or not.”

“We’ll watch it.”

“I wanna see Sehun,” Hyeongjun sighed, making heart eyes at the tv. 

“Your type is so specific,” Minhee whined. 

“Babe you’re my type.”

“That was so gross I want to die.” Jungmo fake gagged. 

“Please stop them from ever letting us witness a conversation that awful again,” Wonjin pleaded. Hyeongjun glared at them.

“Can we please get back to the damn show?”

“Language. But yes”

They got through five minutes before Allen asked “Wait where are they-?”

“SHUT UP YOU’LL UNDERSTAND IN A SECOND,” Seongmin screeched.

*****************

Another episode later Allen asked, “Are they making out?”

“Yes now be quiet,” Hyeongjun shushed him, staring intently at the screen. 

“I’m gonna say it: this show makes no sense,” Allen shrugged.

“Shut up and keep watching.”

“Fine.”

*****************

They got through another two episodes before everyone heard Minhee quietly sob.

“Hey, why are you crying?” Jungmo asked concernedly. 

“I miss my dad,” Minhee whispered, hiding his face in his hands. 

“Aegi, I’m so sorry.”

Minhee sat up straight, wiping tears off his face “I’m fine. We can keep watching. Just ignore me.” 

“We’re not gonna ignore you. Is this too much, do you want to watch something else?” Serim asked, having paused the show. 

“It’s not the show. The emotions snuck up on me.”

“You know, it’s okay to cry,” Woobin said, rubbing his back.

“But crying means acknowledging that something bad happened and that’s scary.”

“Minhee, don’t bottle up all your feelings, it only makes everything harder to deal with later,” Wonjin cautioned.

“But it's hard to deal with now,” Minhee said brokenly.

“I know, but you can let yourself have feelings, Minhee. You’re human,” Woobin reminded him.

“You all know I’m secretly an alien.” Minhee tried to smile but it didn’t quite reach his eyes.

“Minhee.”

“Fine. I’ll acknowledge that I’m allowed to have feelings or whatever. Can we get back to the show?” Minhee asked, trying to get the attention away from himself.

“Good job. We can watch the rest of the show, but you have to let yourself feel feelings, okay,” Serim said, turning the show back on.

“Okay.”

By the time they had finished the show, everyone had quieted down almost entirely, only laughing at the super funny parts. 

“I have to say that was quite amusing,” Allen admitted.

“It’s great right?” Seongmin said cheerfully.

“Sure.”

“Guys, we have a problem,” Hyeongjun said softly, pointing to Minhee who had fallen asleep on his shoulder. “I don’t want to wake him up because he’s stressed.”

“I can carry him to bed if you want. I think Minhee could sleep through anything,” Serim offered.

“Good point. Just take him to his room, I’ll sleep there tonight. Goodnight guys,” Hyeonngjun said, getting up to follow Serim.

There was a chorus of “Goodnight”s as Serim carried a sleeping Minhee out of the room, followed by Hyeongjun. 

As Hyeongjun slipped into bed, Minhee started to stir.

“Thank you for all of this,” he mumbled, wrapping his arms around Hyeongjun. 

“I didn’t set all of that up, they did. They really care about you,” Hyeongjun said, playing with Minhee’s hair.

“You’re gonna make me cry again,” Minhee whined, hiding his face in Hyeongjun’s chest. 

“Crying isn’t a bad thing,” Hyeongjun said, moving Minhee’s face to look at him.

“It makes me feel gross,” Minhee went back to hiding his face.

“Emotions sometimes are gross, but you still have to face them.”

“I really don’t think I tell the rest of the group how much I love them.”

“They know”

“I wish I was better at talking about how I feel, it just is always awkward for me”

“Just because you don’t always talk about it doesn’t mean you don’t show it.”

Minhee started dozing off. “I love you,” he said sleepily.

“I love you too.” Hyeongjun pulled him close and went to sleep.

*****************

For the next few weeks after, Minhee and the group found a careful balance of emotions, trying to work together to make everything a tiny bit more okay with small actions. It was little things like the group letting him choose what food they ordered, leaving sticky notes with nice messages on his belongings, or letting him have first shower after a long practice. To an outsider, it might seem like nothing, but to Minhee it meant the world. 

*****************

Minhee and Hyeongjun visited Hyeongjun’s family for a weekend as well and Hyeongjun’s sisters spent the whole time cooing over how cute the two of them were and lovingly teasing them. They spent a whole three hours sitting on the couch with Hyeongjun’s family retelling stories of baby Hyeongjun, met with a delighted and very giggly Minhee, and a very embarrassed Hyeongjun.

****************

The day his parents called again, they called his manager (Minhee had blocked them after they kept calling to “fix where they’d gone wrong in parenting to make him this way”). Apparently, after both Minhee’s siblings had yelled at them and flooded them with articles and stories they’d finally accepted that their son wasn’t going to be the exact way they had predicted and they had recognized that he was still the same person, even though he wasn’t straight. They set up a meeting for two weeks later.

*****************

“I’m nervous,” Minhee said, straightening the dress shirt he was wearing. 

Hyeongjun hugged him from behind “Good job talking about your feelings, everything will be fine.”

“But it’s my parents. Two phone calls ago my mom said she wanted to ‘fix what made me like this.’ Of course I’m nervous. I’m worried they’re gonna change their minds and scream at me or something,” Minhee whined, leaning against Hyeongjun.

“They’re not gonna scream at you. If they do I’ll punch them in the face,” Hyeongjun reassured him. 

“My family is all really tall, that would be hilarious,” Minhee giggled. 

“How much longer until your sister gets here?” Hyeongjun asked, trying to get Minhee to focus and get ready.

“Well she’s always late so I’d give her fifteen minutes.” As Minhee said that his phone buzzed with a text from his sister. “Actually the universe might be broken because she’s here now. Do I look like a rat?”

“No, you do not look like a rat. I did your hair for you, remember?”

“True. Okay let’s go. Wait I have to warn you about my sister. She will try to tell you a very specific story about something she refers to as the waterpark incident. Do not let her,” Minhee emphasized.

“You can’t just say that and not elaborate,” Hyeongjun snorted.

“I don’t want you to dump me, it's embarrassing.”

“We all did stupid shit as kids. You met my sisters and they told you stupid stories. I will still love you even if you did something embarrassing at a waterpark.”

“I love you, babe.”

“I love you too. Now we really need to go.” Hyeongjun grabbed Minhee’s hand and pulled him out the door.

“Hi, you two. How are you?” Minhee’s sister asked as they got in the car.

“We’re good, how are you?” Minhee asked.

“I’m good except that the last time I saw our parents I yelled at them for two hours.”

“I feel bad you had to do that,” Minhee apologized. 

“You’re my baby brother I’d yell at anyone for you,” she shrugged. 

“Thank you.”

“And as your older sister it is my responsibility to embarrass you,” Minhee’s sister smirked, looking at Hyeongjun through the rearview mirror. 

“Oh no you better not be talking about-” Minhee started.

“Hyeongjun are you ready to hear the waterpark story?” she asked, cutting Minhee off.

“I’ve been told to say no if you asked that,” Hyeongjun laughed as Minhee looked furious. 

“If you tell him the story I will tell Mom and Dad where you kept going in the middle of the night in high school,” Minhee threatened, successfully stopping his sister from embarrassing him.

“Fine I won’t tell him. Mom and Dad can’t know about that, I’ll get grounded. Even as an adult,” she grumbled.

“Where are we meeting everyone again?” Minhee asked, avoiding the topic of embarrassing stories.

“The restaurant we went to when you signed with Starship.”

“That one was so fancy.”

“I know right? We’re here. Deep breaths, everything is gonna be fine,” Minhee’s sister reminded both of them.

“Yeah,” Minhee whispered, visibly nervous.

“Remember, I will fight them if necessary,” Hyeongjun whispered, holding Minhee’s hand tightly.

“Let’s go before I decide it’s safer to go hide in a closet back home,” he decided.

Once they got inside the restaurant, Minhee’s parents and older brother were already seated at a table. They somehow spotted the small group as soon as they arrived and waved them over.

“Hello! Thank you for meeting us. You must be Hyeongjun,” Mrs. Kang said, extending her hand for Hyeongjun to shake, disregarding the fact that she’d met Hyeonjun before.

Hyeongjun shook her hand, bowing slightly “Hi,” he said nervously.

“Come sit down,” Mr. Kang instructed. 

“Hello Mom and Dad,” Minhee said, sliding into a seat his eyes focused on the floor. 

“Minhee we want to apologize for how we reacted when you told us about your relationship. We had many awful prejudices and we’ve now seen the way we went wrong,” Mrs. Kang expressed, clasping her hands together on the table.

“You guys are being so formal, it’s weird. I’m still me,” Minhee almost whispered, still looking at the ground.

“What we’re trying to say is we’re sorry. We love you and your announcement has made us reassess how we look at people,” Mr. Kang cut in.

Minhee looked up and his dad took his hand “That really means a lot,” he half-smiled shakily. 

“Now Hyeongjun what do your parents do?” Mrs. Kang asked, turning her attention to Hyeongjun. 

Hyeongjun got the feeling Minhee’s family wasn’t great with emotion.

“My mom is a teacher and my dad works in accounting,” he answered.

“That’s nice. What about your siblings?” Minhee’s dad asked, also turning away from his son. 

“Guys, don’t interrogate my boyfriend,” Minhee groaned, hiding his face in his hands. 

“What else are we supposed to do?” his mother asked. 

“Have a normal conversation with a human I’ve literally known for almost four years and who you’ve met many times,” Minhee deadpanned. 

“They’re okay. One of my sisters is in college and the other teaches preschool,” Hyeongjun cut in before Minhee could argue with his parents. He knew his boyfriend was really nervous and worried about saying the wrong thing.

“That seems nice. You’re close with them?” 

“Yes, very.”

“Now about marriage?” Minhee’s mother asked. 

“Mom, no they’re only 20!” Minhee’s sister shouted.

“Yeah, you didn’t start nagging me about that until I was at least 25,” Minhee’s brother added.

“You were single for most of college. I didn’t want to rub it in,” their mother said.

“You thought I was single for most of college,” Minhee’s brother muttered.

“Did you lie to me?”

“I mean I’m not the child that’s done the worst things,” Minhee’s brother mumbled, staring at his sister pointedly. 

“You act like I can’t blackmail you to hell and back,” Minhee’s sister glared. She turned back to their mother “I promise whatever, you're thinking, it’s not that bad.”

“It might be,” Minhee muttered.

“Waterpark incident,” his sister threatened. 

“Right,” Minhee immediately dropped the subject.

“Oh stop holding that over him, it's been years. We all have embarrassing stories,” Minhee’s mom scolded. 

“I’m gonna change the topic before someone’s past gets revealed. Hyeongjun and Minhee, how did you two get together?” Minhee’s brother asked.

“Oh...um-,” Minhee stuttered.

Hyeongjun cut him off, grabbing his hand under the table before they got yelled at for drinking. “It was during a break while we were hanging out as a group, I confessed during a party game.”

“That seems fitting for some reason,” Minhee’s sister laughed. As she turned back to the parents to talk about something else, Minhee turned to Hyeongjun.

“Thank you for covering up the alcohol,” he whispered in his boyfriend’s ear. 

“Anytime babe,” Hyeongjun whispered back, reaching up to subtly kiss Minhee’s cheek. 

The rest of the meal went by extremely well, Minhee visibly perking up when his parents told him they approved of his relationship. 

As the meal ended, Minhee’s dad pulled him aside. “I am so sorry for how we initially reacted. We were wrong and it feels awful that we hurt you. I saw tonight that you really love him. Your happiness is what matters. You really should thank your siblings for getting us to educate ourselves. I love you, stay safe and healthy.” Minhee’s father hugged him close for a moment, then went to join his wife and older son in getting in the car and going back home.

“You okay?” Hyeongjun asked, walking over and taking Minhee’s hand. Minhee looked down at him and kissed the top of his head. “Yeah. I’m really happy actually,” he said a bit tearfully.

“Are you two lovebirds ready to go?” Minhee’s sister asked, car keys in hand.

“Yeah. Thank you for driving us by the way,” Hyeongjun said, still holding Minhee’s hand.

“And thank you for talking to mom and dad when everything first happened,” Minhee added.

“It was worth it. They needed to stop being homophobic, we all know they’re better than that.”

“Yeah, it was super fun when I had my whole bi awakening and got to hear dad go on that rant about how ‘the gays were ruining marriage for everyone’ in the same week,” Minhee joked darkly. Both Hyeongjun and his sister looked mildly concerned.

“That was a fun dad rant. Wait, that was so long ago, how did you not tell us for that long?”

“The emotions live in a locked box at the bottom of my closet.”

“Has he always been this bad about talking about emotions?” Hyeongjun asked.

“Yes, it's annoying. He used to come home from school and just passive-aggressively sit on the couch.”

“He still does that.”

“Not as much,” Minhee whined. Hyeongjun wrapped his arms around him. “True, you used to do it more with X1 because you could get away with it. Now there will always be someone to pester you.”

“You two are almost sickeningly cute, you know that right?”

“Our group makes sure to remind us.”

“Say hi to them for me. Minhee I love you, call more. Hyeongjun it was great meeting you. Goodnight!”

“Goodnight. Love you,” Minhee waved, getting out of the car with Hyeongjun and walking up the stairs to the dorm. 

“That went better than I expected,” Minhee exhaled, tiredly brushing his hands through his hair. 

“You expected them to attack us didn’t you?” Hyeongjun laughed, lightly pushing him.

“Maybe. Sorry about the interrogation. I’m not really sure why they did that, they’ve met you tons of times.”

“They’re doing their best. You did a great job, but I have to ask. Are you okay?”

“I mean they never said the actual words come out, bi, or boyfriend, which was a bit disappointing but they were nice and didn’t say anything bad. They even apologized so I feel pretty good about it.”

“Your family loves you. It’s really obvious looking at how you interact with them. Your parents reevaluated their views for you, they’re not gonna be perfect but they’re trying. They really love you, Minhee,” Hyeongjun said, kissing him while smiling.

“I know. I love you,” Minhee smiled, kissing back. 

“I love you too.”

**Author's Note:**

> Fun fact: this is posted on the two year anniversary of me coming out to my parents. It went much better than how it goes for Minhee
> 
> Thanks you for reading, leave kudos and a comment if you want!


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